Diversity Champions: Dana Mule: His ambition is giving back for the long term

In 2009, Dana Mule opened Hula’s Modern Tiki in a hip downtown neighborhood.

He wasn’t looking to make it the hottest restaurant in town. “I want (it) to be the oldest restaurant in Phoenix,” he said. “I want to be here in 30 years. I want people to bring their kids in, and their grandkids, and say: Oh, we went to Hula’s when it opened.”

Hot restaurants come and go like fashion, and Mule said if Hula’s ever falls out of style, he and his wife might have to live in their car. Still, he invested in his project during a flat economy when people advised him to put it off. He forged ahead, figuring if every potential business owner came to a dead stop, the economy would never get better.

“So we rolled the dice,” he said. “Here we are, three years later, in what people consider the riskiest business on the planet. So we’re pretty blessed.”

When Mule started the restaurant, he implemented Hula’s Mahalo Mondays Charitable Giving Program. A charity is selected each month to receive

10 percent of the restaurant’s gross proceeds every Monday of that month. The program has donated $35,000 to date through that program, he said.

The selected nonprofit usually is a small local effort that really needs the $1,500 to $2,200 and a shot of publicity, Mule said.

“It’s about getting the word out,” he said. “We put posters up. We put placards on the tables letting everyone know what the charities are. So, it’s about exposure more than anything else.”

Over time, he plans to build Hula’s reputation as a community business that good causes can count on for the occasional $100 check or a “dinner for two” certificate for a raffle. He already sponsors two softball teams.

Mule said there is a certain advantage to being at Central Avenue and Camelback Road. The neighborhood is home to many gay and lesbian residents, young professionals and hipsters — most with good incomes, he said.

“If you’re going to be here, you’d better be giving something back,” he said. “It’s good business, but your heart has to be in this because if you’re doing this just for business, people eventually see through it.”